Special education consists of specially designed services available for students with disabilities, and should be available across placements. Students with the most significant disabilities continue to be taught in restrictive settings, despite accumulating evidence suggesting their special education services can be delivered effectively in…

Limited research has explored the perceptions of self-determination held by diverse families. In this study, seven mothers of transition-age youth with severe disabilities who were Hispanic were interviewed. Each mother was actively engaged in advocacy related to diverse children with disabilities in their local schools and communities. Mothers…

The emergence of the standards-based reform movement has raised a number of issues related to the design of educational programs for students with severe disabilities, and a debate has arisen that presents an "either/or" choice between the general education curriculum and an ecological curricular framework that has traditionally guided…

The document focuses on five similarities that exist between the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. Explored are establishment of the severely handicapped as a priority, individualized written programs, client and/or parental involvement, required annual evaluation, and assessment and…

This article describes the design and use of daily schedules for individual students, especially those with moderate or severe disabilities, highlighting the multiple learning opportunities such schedules can provide. It considers advantages of schedule use, types of daily schedules, considerations for developing schedules, embedded academic…

This publication is a compilation of monographs offering practical suggestions for teachers of adapted physical education. It contains numerous suggestions on teaching techniques, activity adaptations, equipment modifications, programming information, coaching hints, skill development strategies, and curriculum data. The five sections offer…

A family-focused intervention model was implemented with 16 families having young children (birth to 3 years) with moderate or severe disabilities. Individualized Family Service Plans were formulated and implemented, resulting in high levels of parental satisfaction, accelerated rates of progress by the children, and acquisition of functional…

This brief paper offers an inventory to help implement change strategies and achieve person-centered planning for people with severe disabilities. The inventory is intended to examine use of 12 resources that facilitate change and increase the chance of good outcomes. A visual display of the model on which the inventory is based is provided first.…

For students with significant speech and movement impairments, meaningful participation in educational planning activities is difficult. These students face barriers in communicating choices about daily activities and basic knowledge; therefore, student-initiated curriculum goals are not systematically included in IEP and transition planning…

Students with disabilities should not only be members of general education classrooms, but must also be able to learn meaningful skills in those settings, not just socialize with peers. This article reviews effective teaching methods and their contextual fit with the working of a general education classroom. The response to intervention (RtI)…

Postschool outcomes for students with disabilities have been dismal for quite some time now. Although recent data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 indicate some improvement, students with severe intellectual disabilities continue to transition into segregated employment at unacceptable rates in spite of a multitude of studies,…

A feasibility study of Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) in a multicategorical preschool demonstration project pointed to the relevance of the method for improving implementation effectiveness of individualized education programs with severely impaired preschoolers. However, there were serious limitations for using GAS as a measure of program impact.…

The ten 1998 issues of the newsletter of TASH comprise this document. An issue typically contains news items, a column by the organization's executive director, reports from special interest groups, legislative testimony, conference information, and several major articles, such as the following: "A Q&A on IDEA 97 with Tom Gilhool"; "Positive…

The text of Public Law 99-457, the Education of the Handicapped Amendments (1986) is presented. Title I focuses on handicapped infants and toddlers with sections specifying: definitions, general authority, general eligibility, continuing eligibility, requirements for statewide system, the individualized family service plan, state applications and…

Much progress has been made in the past three decades to improve the quality of education for students with disabilities. Schools have had to undergo complex changes in order to implement the special education laws regarding access to and structure of educational services. Although services have dramatically improved, there remain frequent…